The Sphere of Influence: A Pecking Order Predicament

In my collective 12 months as a chicken keeper, I've been witness to several behavioral clashes between flock members. Some of it is expected ("Don't touch my tasty treat or I'll peck you!"), and some of it seems a bit excessive ("Don't breathe the same air as me or I'll peck you!"). It can be confusing for someone new to chicken society. What does it mean when Walnut the Wyandotte grabs a mouthful of feathers from Peanut the Pekin? Is that the pecking order, or is it bullying? Heck, is it feather picking?! Should you intervene? And how can you restore a once peaceful flock?

I've asked these questions myself on BYC forums and spent countless hours learning about chicken behavior. Seriously, I've read everything from a textbook on chicken psychology to random Facebook posts that seemed relevant. Was I able to answer all of my questions? Ummm... let's just say if you're here hoping to solve all your flock's problems, you'll have to read more than this article. I'm not exactly a guru on the chicken psyche, but I'll point you to people who are (so keep an eye out for links)! What I can speak to are my own observations on what the pecking order is, what it isn't, and how to potentially explain its nuances - all with a fun, geometric metaphor.

So pull up a nest box, folks, and take off those pinless peepers. It's time to talk about the Sphere of Influence.


DEFINING THE SPHERE

Now you might be thinking, "I don't see any spheres in that opening graphic. The orange outlines look like a Hershey Kiss, and the red outlines make it look like that chicken's broadcasting radio waves." And I agree, my colorful interpretation of this concept isn't very good. Allow me to explain instead.

A chicken's Sphere of Influence (SOI) is an invisible barrier that surrounds them as they go about their day. Some chickens wear their spheres tight to their body, like the chicken with a green outline. Some chickens have giant spheres that extend out several feet, like the chicken with red outlines. And some chickens don't have spheres at all, represented by my chicken with a white outline. So how does this translate to real life? Whenever a chicken's sphere is physically crossed by a flockmate, ESPECIALLY one below them on the pecking order, it will "influence" a response.

Normal responses may include:

• Freezing in place
• Bowing submissively
• Dirty looks and stare downs
• Angry vocalizations
• Puffing up like a blowfish
• A brief charge
• A peck to the head or back
• Latching onto feathers, often seen when an intruder will not vacate the sphere

On the other hand, ABNORMAL responses include:

• Fixating on a particular bird and following them around, solely to harass
• Prolonged chasing without end
• Pinning a bird down and beating it mercilessly
• Calmly and/or stealthily plucking feathers out of a flockmate

If you see any of these abnormal responses, you have a problem. Fixating, prolonged chasing, and excessive violence are indicators of bullying and require intervention on your part to prevent injuries. Feather picking is also outside the range of pecking order behaviors; it's a bad habit that often occurs due to boredom or nutritional deficiencies.


Now that you have an idea of what behaviors fall within the pecking order, let's get back to the Sphere of Influence. I'm going to repost my image with the actual pecking order rankings of my chickens, and we'll run through some hypothetical examples to show how the spheres work.

THE SPHERE IN ACTION



Chicken No. 1: Poppy

Poppy is my highest ranking bird and has a green SOI that she wears close to her body. This is often indicative of a top bird; she's confident, well-adjusted, and doesn't overreact to others in her space. Imagine that Poppy's enjoying a blueberry when another bird approaches, intent on stealing her prize. Once that bird crosses her SOI, Poppy will respond with an angry vocalization and a peck to their head. The intruder will back off, and Poppy will resume eating her blueberry. It's a brief, sensible interaction. A pecking order classic, if you will!

Chicken No. 2: Hornet

Hornet is next in line and not quite as confident as Poppy, so her orange SOI extends further out. If I were to toss a pile of seeds into the run, Hornet and Poppy would forage together happily (as long as Hornet respects Poppy's SOI). However, Hornet would not allow the chicken below her to get too close before responding, most likely in a brief chase. Hornet's SOI has a wider range and is more easily triggered. Some folks will mistakenly categorize this as bullying. In fact, I saw a YouTube clip the other day where someone put their Silkie in "chicken jail" because she pecked a younger pullet away from the treats. Don't be this person. Instead, split your treats into multiple piles. The flock can then exercise their SOI in a healthy way, and everyone will get a chance at some goodies.


Chicken No. 3: Dandelion

Dandelion is a lower ranking bird, but not the lowest. She's also the only one of the four that's actively laying. This results in some anxiety for the poor girl; she needs to procure resources for her eggs (like lots of nutritious food and a safe nest), but there's already two other birds above her in the rankings. Her SOI reflects that anxiety, radiating out several feet from her body and making her CONSTANTLY aware of the pecking order between her and her flockmates.

Birds like Dandelion do not necessarily need a valuable item (like treats) to trigger her SOI. When a higher ranking bird enters her sphere, Dandelion will hold very still and bow her head. Sometimes they'll even be more than a foot apart! Likewise, a lower ranking bird isn't allowed to breach Dandelion's sphere for ANY reason. No exceptions. This is why having a generous amount of space in the coop and run is so important, as well as extra feed and water stations.


Chickens are hardwired to obey the pecking order and need room to maneuver around each others' spheres. If Dandelion's eating at a feeder, that feeder is completely encased in her SOI and Chicken No. 4 needs to eat elsewhere. When Dandelion's heading to roost at night, Chicken No. 4 needs to make herself scarce until everyone else has settled down. Again, this is NOT bullying. It can certainly feel that way when Dandelion's strutting about with an SOI the size of a small moon, but that's chickens, folks. They each have their own personalities and quirks.



Chicken No. 4: Clover

Finally, we come to pitiable Clover, a chicken without a sphere. Anyone can enter Clover's airspace without consequence. If someone wants her treat, they're getting her treat. If someone (ie. Dandelion) wants her dust bath hole, Clover will have to get out. It's a sad state of affairs to be at the bottom of the pecking order. That's not to say that Clover will never generate an SOI. Chickens can become very hormonal at point of lay, and Clover may decide she needs resources more than the others. In turn, her SOI will grow and allow her to potentially outrank another bird. I would also expect to see more of her SOI if we were to add new birds. Clover has home field advantage, after all, and would not want her standing to drop even further.

TAMING LARGE SPHERES

Perhaps you've started to picture SOIs around your own flock members. Most chicks and adolescents will be like Clover and have little to no sphere. Then, one day, you'll find your sweet little pullet is walking around with a 3-foot blast radius. Rather than jumping to the conclusion that you have a bully, you can now say, "That's her Sphere of Influence! Nicely done, Henrietta!" But what if Henrietta's sphere is a little too big for her britches? Even worse, what if there's multiple Henriettas orbiting about, making life miserable for their flockmates? Aside from giving your flock as much space as possible, there's one other secret to combatting an overgrown SOI: visual blocks.




You may have noticed that your chickens have a very monkey-see-monkey-do mentality. No one's particularly hungry until one bird starts eating at the feeder, then everyone wants to join in! I've intentionally built up the dig box walls in my run to block one feeder from another. This is indispensable to lower ranked chickens like Clover. Even if Dandelion chases her off a feeder with her massive SOI, Clover has another feed option that's hidden from sight.


I've also found visual blocks to be an accidental litmus test on whether or not you have a bully. Bullies do not respect visual blocks. They will follow their victims up, over, and around anything in their path. SOIs, on the other hand, have a limited range of effect (ie. the size of the sphere) and are negated by solid objects. So clutter up your chicken run and yard! There's a fantastic thread by Mrs. K called "A cluttered run" that further discusses the benefits of breaking line-of-sight and has additional ideas with photos.

SPHERE ELASTICITY

Now, can a chicken's SOI grow so large that it toes the line between pecking order and bullying? Yes, and that is what happened in our case with Dandelion and Clover. It started with our coop being too small (which is on me), then progressed to undesirable behavior in the run. The true catalyst for Dandelion's downfall, though, was a lack of consistency.


Chickens are like children and thrive on routine. Changes to the flock lineup or their coop/run, predator attacks, impact weather, hormonal changes, and illness can all throw your pecking order - and an SOI - out of whack. Dandelion is a perfect example of this. Her SOI appeared about 2 weeks before starting to lay. It grew in size over the next several days before stabilizing, then shrank back down once she got into an egg laying routine. She and Clover were even able to share a bowl of highly-valued fermented feed! Unfortunately, Dandelion became broody shortly after. It took about 2 weeks to fully break her, and I noticed an immediate change to her SOI upon returning to the flock. She started to follow Clover around for the sole purpose of harassing her, which if you remember, is not part of the Sphere of Influence. Perhaps Dandelion's SOI got so large that it finally popped?

Moral of the story: If the dynamic between two of your birds is looking rather bleak, take a step back and assess the circumstances. Did something change recently? Even something small, like a new brand of food, could trigger a change in SOI. If there has been a change, is it temporary or permanent? And is there something you can do to minimize stress on the flock? Look closely at the behaviors you're seeing. Are they classified under "normal" or "abnormal" back in "DEFINING THE SPHERE"? Normal responses, even ones that are hard to watch, can give you peace of mind that the flock is still operating within the pecking order. Once the flock adapts to the change, you should start to see their SOIs shrink back down to a healthier range.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The Sphere of Influence has been a helpful way for me to visualize and understand pecking order behaviors, and I hope it's been for you as well. Yes, I realize it's not an entirely original term, but it's what my brain spat out while discussing flock dynamics with my husband. These spicy little bantams have taught me so much with their constant shenanigans, and I won't lie, it's been a rough ride. But I've come out on the other side with a much better understanding of chicken society, why some birds seem testier than others (to put it lightly), and what I can do on my end to better accommodate their natural behaviors.